SHERRI Shepherd recently landed her own talk show, but the road to getting there – especially her romantic relationships – has been long and challenging.
The actress stepped in to host Wendy Williams’ daytime TV show in her absence.
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Sherri, 54, hasn’t been linked to anyone as of late.
She has been twice married and has two children.
In 2001, the comedian married Jeff Tarpley. Together, they welcomed a son named Jeffrey Jr. in April 2005.
They divorced four years later, however.
In 2010, Sherri got engaged to Lamar Sally. The pair tied the knot in August 2011.
She and her beau split in May 2014, but welcomed a child via surrogate in August of that same year. They named the baby Lamar Jr and got locked in an extensive custody battle after the fact.
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Sherri was rumored to be dating Antonio Burke Jr. at one point.
She opened up about her challenges with dating in March 2021 and hasn’t been romantically connected to anyone else.
FIRST MARRIAGE
Sherri was married to Jeff for about a decade.
Their divorce got nasty amid a battle over their son, according to People.
The outlet reported that Sherri’s ex accused her of working too much, leading to “neglect” of Jeffrey Jr.
Her former husband alleged that she leaves “primary responsibility for our minor child to unskilled nannies.”
He added that her grueling work schedule “caused her to neglect Jeffrey and deprive him access to basic educational needs, a nurturing and loving environment, and care that Jeffrey so desperately needs.”
Jeff alleged that the boy – who has special needs – was not getting the care he required. As such, he was seeking full custody.
Per a report from TMZ at the time, Sherri accused the child’s father of being “absentee.”
Their custody battle took place in 2014. People reported that following a decision handed down that summer, Sherri was granted custody of her son.
She said in a statement at the time: “I stand behind my character and integrity. You can’t hold me down – I’m a wonderful mama.”
Speaking about her son’s relationship with his father during an appearance on The Wendy William’s Show, Sherri said: “For me, I always make sure Jeffrey’s father is a hero in Jeffrey’s eyes. Because all of the craziness has nothing to do with Jeffrey.”
MARRIAGE NO. 2
After her divorce to Jeff, Sherri married Lamar.
He filed for legal separation in 2014, according to People.
Their divorce spanned several years, getting nasty one more than one occasion.
In 2017, People reported that Sherri won a “huge victory” over Lamar in the child support case filed against her.
A rep for the actress told the magazine at the time that a judge denied Lamar’s request for an increase in child support payments.
He filed the request in December the year prior.
The pair welcomed their son using Lamar’s sperm and a donor egg. Sherri is not genetically connected to the child, though he is her son.
He was born in in August 2014, months after Lamar and Sherri split.
The child was raised by his father.
LOVE CHILD DRAMA
In November 2015, a judge in the Pennsylvania court of appeals upheld a lower court’s April decision that Sherri’s name would remain on Lamar Jr.’s birth certificate.
The judge also ruled that she must continue paying her ex child support.
The following month, Lamar filed a modification of child support after Sherri gained a salary increase, according to People.
Sherri’s rep told People: “Shepherd had a huge victory in the California family court. Sally and his counsel were humiliated as the judge flat out denied his request and politely asked Sally to be seated in the audience, away from counsel table so he could properly dispose of the matter.
“The California judge agreed with Shepherd’s counsel Terry Levich Ross, Esq. and determined that by Sally’s own agreement in two separate legal judgments, New Jersey has exclusive and ongoing jurisdiction over this child support issue and all matters must be dealt with only in that state.”
The statement continued: “The amount of child support Shepherd is currently paying her ex-husband is more than New Jersey has required her to pay, so if Sally wanted to revisit the matter in a New Jersey court he would likely face having his payments reduced substantially.
“Shepherd now hopes that her ex will stop his frivolous attempts to get more money out of her and will seek gainful employment to take care of his child like any other capable parent.”
Lamar’s lawyer told the magazine: “She’s stating that the amount of child support she’s paying is more than the state of New Jersey required her to pay. That’s not true, absolutely not true. Ms. Shepherd’s not paying a penny more than New Jersey required her to pay. The fact that she believes that New Jersey would substantially reduce these payments, there’s not a shred of evidence of that being capable of happening because Ms. Shepherd has not disclosed what her income is, which we believe is significantly higher than what she declared it was at the time the New Jersey court made the original order in the case.”
A source told People at the time that Sherri was paying her ex, who was working as a substitute teacher, $4,100 per month.
DATING DIFFICULTIES
Sherri opened up about her romantic hardships in an interview on the Two Funny Mama’s podcast.
She said on the show: “People think you always want to be funny.”
She then reflected on a brief romance with someone whom she said she met at a comedy show.
Sherri revealed they dated for a year, though it wasn’t great.
She said of the romance: “It was a horrible year.
“‘Cause then he kept saying, ‘Why are you so loud all the time?’ When you met me I was loud. I was on stage killing. Then he was like, ‘Why you tell all your business on stage?’ He was…aw, girl. It was the worst year.”
In 2018, Sherri talked about living the single life, saying: “I’m single and I’m open.
“I’ve been single for about four years. I think I’m ready to put my feet into the dating pool. The water’s a little cold, but I think I’m ready. Don’t send me none of your uncles. I need people with their own teeth, their own knees. Good credit. Maybe they own their own home.
“You know, I got a lot of little factors, but I think I’m ready to date.”
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